The circle of life
by LazyIceAngel
Summary: Don't know what to write at the summary, but I'm just fulfilling a wish which turned well into this Oneshot. A little more details at the beginning. Pairing: MarcoXLuffy mpreg!Marco


Hi there, so that's a Oneshot which somehow was wished from a user on AO3 (yes, I mean you, **jackson smith** ). The wish was mpreg!Marco and well, it turned into this.

I hope you take the full blame that I was sometimes close to crying while writing the first part (I'm not lying about this part and well there was another part... but that was deleted because it didn't fit my thoughts any longer).

 **Warnings: Character Death, mpreg, BoyXBoy, OOC(I just hope it's not too much)  
**

 _For the storyline: After Sabo's "death", Luffy didn't want to be too far apart from his brother. Leading to Luffy joining Ace when the older started out as a pirate. The fight between Ace and Jinbe happened and lead to the brothers joining the Whitebeard pirate. Since Luffy was still fourteen around this time, he was placed in Marco's division to keep him safe. Ace was put in the second division because Whitebeard had a feeling that the boy could become a good commander.  
_

 _Ace was appointed a commander only a few weeks now ago and Luffy and Marco share a secret relationship since the sixteens birthday of the boy, where he got drunk. Ace is twenty and Luffy is seventeen.  
_

 _(I hope I didn't forget anything, I thought of for the storyline)  
_

Also, this story covers a longer period so there are time skips. I just hope it won't get ruined by the time skips but... I feel I would ruin it more trying to fill the gaps. So enjoy. I'm open for critics (just not on the pairing).

* * *

Naked feet hitting softly the wood in this room woke Marco from his light slumber. The blonde division commander opened his eyes and set himself up to face the intruder. Marco blinked in surprise when his eyes landed on a black-haired boy with brown eyes who looked afraid of something.

"Luffy, what's wrong, yoi?" the blonde asked softly. No answer from the boy. Marco sighed and waved Luffy closer to him.

The boy jumped into his arms and buried his face in the blonde's shoulder. This worried Marco. Luffy normally didn't behave like that.

Sure, the boy had sneaked into his room sometimes using the excuse that he couldn't wake up Ace, Luffy's older brother and the newly announced second division commander. But then he would either tell him about the nightmare directly or well… they would do things they couldn't do outside Marco's room.

Like cuddling or kissing (well only the second one as Luffy needed people who cuddled with him sometimes). No one was allowed to know what kind of relationship they had. Afterall, he was the first division commander and Luffy belonged to his division. If someone ever found out, they would say something about him preferring the boy. Well, that was something he feared. Also, Luffy had only been seventeen and Marco himself had already been a pirate before the boy had been born. That wasn't something they should make public, yet, or maybe they should never make it public.

"Luffy?", Marco asked again and caressed the black hair of his little lover. "The voice won't stop… something bad is going to happen, it says", Luffy mumbled. The boy's voice sounded scared. "Whose voice, yoi?" "I don't know… no one other heard it. They said I probably dreamed about it… But I'm sure I heard it. The voice started to grow louder when Thatchie came back today…" Luffy's voice was shaking.

Marco stared at the ground. His brain was working at full speed. What had happened today that this voice Luffy sometimes heard got louder?

The blonde trusted the black-haired boy to not imagine this particular voice. As it already had warned Luffy from some danger that had lain ahead.

His eyes widened. The devil fruit! The devil fruit Thatch had found today.

"How about we go to Thatch and ask him for a hot chocolate? Maybe it will help you become calmer, yoi", Marco said, but in reality, he wanted to check on the cook. Luffy might not have noticed that there could be a connection between the danger, the voice spoke about, and Thatch. So it was the best to not say anything about it.

He felt Luffy nod and made the boy stood up. His blue eyes wandered over his little lover who was wearing one of Ace's old shirts, which was slightly too big on the black-haired boy, over his boxers. Marco stood up as well and pressed a short kiss on Luffy's forehead to calm his little lover.

Then he quickly put pants and a shirt on. Just because Luffy could run around in his pyjamas without getting strange looks, it didn't mean that Marco would be treated the same.

His little lover latched onto his right arm when a loud thunder could be heard growling. "Don't worry. I'm there to protect you, yoi", Marco said and leant down to peck Luffy's lips. Brown widened eyes looked up at him before his little lover nodded.

So the first division commander led the black-haired boy to Thatch's room. Only to find this empty. Maybe the cook was in the kitchen preparing some snacks for tomorrow or just cooking something to think. The fourth division commander had told him some time ago that cooking or baking helped him think.

That was the reason, why Marco didn't start to worry immediately. With Luffy still clinging to his arm, the first division commander went to the kitchen. Whatever this voice, his little lover heard, said exactly. It must have been really frightened for the boy.

When they reached the kitchen, the blonde's eyes widened at the sight he was met there. Instinctively Marco covered Luffy's eyes with his left hand. The boy didn't need to see this! Luffy may be a pirate, but still a brat sometimes.

The kitchen was a mess. Blood had splattered the walls and on the ground in his own pool of blood was Thatch.

"Luffy, promise me to close your eyes. Then turn right and run to Izo's room. You can open your eyes while running. Wake him up and say it is an emergency in the kitchen. He should wake up the other and do a headcount. When this is done, I want you in Oyaji's room and wait there for me to come by, yoi", Marco ordered. He needed Luffy to get away from the kitchen. Otherwise, he couldn't help Thatch when he needed to calm down Luffy, too. If help for Thatch was still possible…

Marco felt Luffy run to Izo's room. He hoped that whoever had fought was Thatch wasn't close by any longer. So that his little lover was safe.

The blonde swallowed the bitter pill, which was his bad feeling, and took quick steps to Thatch's body. Blue flames danced around his left hand as he kneeled down next to one of his best friends. The blonde laid his left hand on Thatch's back to heal the wound. At the same time, he tried to feel the pulse of the cook.

His heart nearly stopped. Marco couldn't feel Thatch's pulse. No… this had to be a bad joke. Thatch couldn't be dead. The blood looked too fresh.

Luffy and he probably had only entered a minute after Thatch had been hurt. But why hadn't they heard anything from the fight that seemed to have taken place?

His thoughts were interrupted when there were steps and Izo together with the other division commanders entered the kitchen. Thank god, Luffy wasn't with them.

Shock appeared on their faces. Then hopeful eyes towards him. It hurt Marco inside to shake his head and to say: "It's too late… Thatch is dead."

* * *

The mood on the Moby Dick was down.

After Thatch's death, they had found out that Teach, one of their oldest member, was behind it. Ace had been angry and decided to chase him down. Nothing could have stopped their second division commander. Not the words of Oyaji, not even Luffy's whines!

Ace had left them with the words that he will take care of the traitor and that they should take care of Luffy.

The black-haired boy hadn't really smile since his big brother left. It worried Marco to see his little lover like this. Not even a short meeting with Akagami had lifted Luffy's spirits.

The boy had ignored the red-haired Yonko and had gone to bed.

Marco looked down at his younger lover who had his head in his lap and was staring at the wall. The blonde sighed. He caressed the black locks softly but there was no reaction from the boy. It was like Luffy wasn't really with him at the moment and he just took care of an empty shell of his lover.

"What can I do to help you, Luffy, yoi?", Marco said out loud. Not really intending to get an answer. "Make them stop… and bring Ace back…"

The Phoenix's eyes widened. He grabbed Luffy's shoulders and pulled the boy to look him in the eyes.

Luffy looked pale and tired. But not so tired as he looked when Marco decided to move his little lover to his room, because the boy woke up with nightmares nearly every night.

"Them, yoi?", Marco asked carefully. A nod was the only answer he received. "Who is them, yoi?"

"The voices. They say there will be dead, they can feel it. One also says it is too late to prevent the future… people will die. People who are on the ship now…"

Luffy's voice sounded toneless. But Marco could see the pure fear in these brown eyes. The Phoenix leant down a bit and pecked Luffy's lips softly.

"Death is something that is part of our life. One day everyone will die. So don't let these voices bother you. As long as we stay together we will protect each other. After all, Oyaji calls us his children. That means we are his treasure that he will protect and we will be there to do the same for every ship sibling, yoi", Marco said and caressed his lover's cheek, before Luffy buried his face in the crook of his neck.

"But Ace isn't here with us… so we can't help him…", he heard his little lover mumble. "We can check on him with his Vivre card, yoi", Marco said and opened a drawer taking out a burning paper.

That wasn't good.

Then his door was opened with a loud bang.

Izo stood at the doorway. Hair slightly ruined and panting for air. A newspaper in his left hand.

"We have trouble… big trouble", Izo gasped and offered him the newspaper.

The headline was 'Fire Fist Ace captured'.

* * *

"Luffy, listen. I know you want to save your brother. But this is war. I… I don't want you to be apart of it, yoi", Marco mumbled and leant his forehead against Luffy's. "I can't fight in a war when I don't know that you are safe, yoi."

"I can take care of myself, Marco. I grew a lot stronger since I am with you guys. Just let me…"

Marco interrupted the boy with a kiss. How could he get Luffy to understand that he just want him to be safe? That Luffy wasn't ready, yet, to fight in this war?

The kiss became desperate as they both seemed to try to convince the other via actions in the kiss that their own opinion was the right one. But both were not ready to back down.

Marco trapped Luffy between himself and a wall before the blonde separated their lips softly from each other. "Luffy, please… stay with the medical stuff and protect them. I'll promise I bring Ace back home, yoi", the Phoenix whispered and leant his forehead against the boy's one.

He didn't want his little lover on the battlefield. One, they had no control of because Marineford meant the Marine had the home advantage. Also, it already scared him how Oyaji would act there. Because he feared that their father figure wouldn't care about medical care and would stop it before they reached Marineford because it would make him look weaker.

"But… I don't want to stay behind… I want to help", Luffy said and pouted. Marco closed his eyes and sighed. The blonde swallowed and opened his eyes. Big brown puppy eyes looked up at him.

"Luffy…" Marco didn't want to threaten the boy, but he had to do it. "Please don't make me hurt so that you to stay behind, yoi…"

Luffy's eyes widened in shock, he guessed.

Marco had made clear that when the boy joined the crew that he wouldn't really fight the black-haired teen. This only grew when their relationship developed from something simple like a friendship/brotherhood to something more precious. Marco started to hate patching up Luffy or making sure that he went to see the nurses if his little lover got hurt. And the blonde knew that the black-haired one knew how the Phoenix felt about that.

Marco was a bit surprised when he felt hands on his cheeks. "Promise to come back and to bring Ace back?" Luffy's voice was only a whisper. "I promise, yoi", Marco said with the firmest voice he could muster at the moment.

Luffy nodded and lifted himself a bit up. Marco felt soft lips on his own and he responded to the kiss, also hugging his little lover closer to him.

This would be the last kiss before they would part.

Luffy would stay with the medical stuff on an island close by, while Marco and the others would meet up with their allies to get Ace out of the Marine's hands.

* * *

The pictures of the war were still fresh on his mind. He couldn't forget. He couldn't really realise it. Not even when he had stood in front of the two graves.

'Portgas D Ace'

'Edward Newgate'

They had lost. They had lost many of their ship brothers. They had rescued Ace from the execution with luck but lost him during the escape. And more importantly, they lost their father figure. They lost Oyaji. The man who called them his sons. The one who would have died to protect them and to make sure they all returned to the New World. They lost him because of Teach… The traitor was the catalysator that they lost more family members in two months than they normally did in three years…

Also, the bastard somehow made Oyaji's devil fruit his own. Showing off the skill at Marineford.

It made Marco want to scream and hit something. He felt powerless as he wasn't able to do anything. He couldn't help Thatch back then. He couldn't stop Ace from going after Teach. He couldn't help Oyaji in the fight against the traitor. He couldn't keep his promise to his little lover.

How should he face Luffy? The teen counted on him to bring back Ace. He failed him. It wouldn't surprise him if Luffy would leave them all and never wanted to see the crew again. Because they failed to bring back the most important person in their little brother's (or in his case: his little lover's) life.

"We docked… do you think you are able to tell him? I mean… you are his commander and the one he was the closest to after Ace and Oyaji", Vista said and interrupted Marco's depressing thoughts about a life without the little ball of sunshine.

"There won't be a perfect time to tell him. Best to just get it over, yoi", the blonde mumbled and left the ship as the first person.

Their medical stuff was already at the port. Tears in their eyes.

"Is it true?" "Those pictures aren't fake?" "Please tell us they are fake."

There were more questions but Marco didn't feel like it to answer their question. His mind was only fixed on the difficult task to tell Luffy about their failure.

He passed Tess, who somehow seemed to know that he was looking for Luffy and had stepped aside.

Something warm crashed into him with that much force that the blonde stumbled back and landed on his behind. Arms were around his neck and legs around his waist. Someone clung to him like this someone's life depended on it.

Marco turned his head slightly and saw black hair and a straw hat. His eyes widened.

Luffy.

The teen was sobbing in the crock of his neck. He felt tears on his skin and lifted his arms. Cradling Luffy. "I'm sorry… I'm sorry that we couldn't bring him back… I'm sorry that I failed you, yoi." The last part was only whispered. Only for his little lover to hear.

Luffy didn't react with words. The boy just clung more to him.

Even when it started to rain and the others helped Marco up, Luffy didn't let go. So the blonde carried the black-haired boy to the room the villagers had set up for them. It would probably be the best to talk with Luffy alone. Maybe then he would get a vocal reaction.

Marco sat down on the only bed in the room with Luffy on his lap. The blonde lifted his hands to the boy's cheeks and made the younger one look at him.

Big round, teary brown eyes looked up to with a mix of emotion ghosted in them.

"Luffy…", Marco was lost at his words. He didn't know what to say or how to say it. The words that were on repeat in his mind were just 'I'm sorry'. But these words wouldn't help him in this situation.

"Are you going to leave me, too?"

This sobbed question made Marco bit his lips and it broke his hear. To hear this question form his little lover. It sounded like Luffy was going to die if he left him, too.

"Only if you want me to, yoi…", Marco said and brushed carefully the tears away. "I… I want to stay with Marco."

* * *

"The gravity of darkness that returns all to nothingness and the power of earthquakes that destroy everything. I've obtained it at last! Now, nobody is a match for me! Zehahahaha."

Marco opened his eyes in shock and sat himself up. The room he was in was only slightly lightened by the moonlight. There was no Teach. No, the traitor wasn't even close to the island they stayed on if the information was correct.

The blonde hid his face in his palms.

It was only a nightmare. But it wasn't his first. The nightmares repeated themselves again and again. It was now two months after the war against the marine where they lost Ace, Oyaji and many more. The pictures of the war and Thatch's dead body, who they lost four months ago, were always refreshed on his mind by the nightmares.

Not even six months everything was fine. They had celebrated all together Luffy's seventeen birthday. Oyaji had been laughing off the scolding because of his drinking habits, Luffy and Ace had an eating competition, Thatch laughed and brought out more and more food.

But then this traitor had to kill Thatch because of a devil fruit. Ace had chased after him and got caught. This started the whole war…

"Marco?"

A soft voice next to him made the blonde lift his head from his hands. Blue eyes met confused brown eyes.

He hadn't noticed that his little lover had woken up, too. The black-haired boy had also sat up and had a hand on his shoulder.

It was still surreal, still a surprise to him that Luffy still wanted to be with him. Especially after he had failed to bring Ace back to his brother.

But… the boy, his little lover, was the only thing in his life at the moment that kept him from going insane with his grief.

"Everything is alright, yoi", Marco forced himself to smile and took Luffy in his arms. "It's not… you're hurting…", he heard his little lover mumble.

Marco bit his lip and buried his face in the black locks of Luffy. He couldn't deny that. Not when he knew his little lover knew… somehow…

He felt how Luffy hugged him and snuggled more into him like the boy did when he had a nightmare. It was familiar… it was nice… it helped him to get the pictures from the war out of his head… a bit at least.

"Luffy… I know I shouldn't ask but do me favour… yoi", Marco said quietly. "But… Help me forget everything for the night, yoi."

He felt more than he saw Luffy lifting his head. The boy's hands found his cheeks. "I'm there for you as much as you are there for me…", his little lover whispered before Marco leant down slightly and kissed him.

* * *

"What?" Marco stared at Tess, the former head-nurse of the Whitebeard Pirates. "Pregnant. You have a baby inside you since around one or two months, I guess. Congratulation, I would say. Who knocked you up?", she said and he felt the studying look on him.

"Don't know… Tried to get drunk and slept through the whole night with anyone who would offer it to forget, yoi."

That was a lie. But Marco wasn't ready to tell anyone about his relationship with Luffy and that he had asked the boy to well… fuck him until he passed out. It made him cringe every time he thought about it. Because he had never wanted the first time for his little lover to be that way… He would have preferred it if Luffy was already a bit older and that it would be more about their feelings for each other than… well making him forget for a night.

"Nice lie. So I know the person, right?"

Marco grumbled. "Can we skip it please, yoi?", he asked. Tess sighed but nodded. Looked like she understood that she wouldn't get any information out of him. "Well, I guess you had a feeling that you are pregnant. Because your medical skill should be good enough to detect that. You shouldn't have any problems but… don't get into fights", Tess said with a slightly worried voice.

She knew that he would fight if there was any hint that Teach was coming close to the islands the others went to. The islands they still tried to protect.

"I'll try. I'll go to Oyaji's home island. It will probably the last place someone would expect me at the moment. I'll take Luffy with me. The graves are close by and we still haven't given him a chance to say his final goodbye to Ace, yoi", Marco said. Tess nodded. "Will be the best. Especially as they made Luffy's heritage public. Keep our little brother safe and be safe, too", she said.

"I will, yoi." Because Luffy was his little lover.

"And be careful with the baby if you keep it." "I may be a pirate, Tess. But I don't kill children, yoi."

* * *

Marco felt like throwing up.

He should have been over nausea for one month at least, maybe two already! He had already started showing.

Tess had made him and Luffy stay on the island until she deemed it safe and that they were really packed for the journey. Also, Marco had to make sure that the others know where to go and how to make sure that they stayed safe while checking on the islands they protected. That already took nearly two months because everytime something new had to be taken care of. It had been stressful sometimes and very often the Phoenix had found himself in situations close to revealing that he got somehow pregnant.

Marco pressed his hand to his mouth and suppressed a groan. Luckily, the blonde was laying on a bed. Otherwise, he would probably have a hard time standing at the moment.

Maybe hitchhiking to the island wasn't the best idea he had. Luffy and Marco were already travelling around a month or two because they always took detours. But it made it harder to follow them. Especially since they changed the appearance every time they changed the ship. Marco even dressed up in woman's clothes to hide better that he was, in fact, a male who got pregnant. He didn't want to know what would happen if the whole thing got public. Especially, with every detail.

The child was doomed before it was born. Its parents were both pirates, one more known than the other one. But the child also shared the curse of being punished because he or she would be the grandchild of Monkey D Dragon, the most wanted person in the world.

"Should I try to get more water or tea for you? Maybe it will help you calm your stomach", Luffy offered and rubbed his shoulders. "Don't worry… It will be away soon when we reach the island finally, yoi", Marco mumbled, closing his eyes when he felt his lover's hand wandering and massaging his back. "If you say so… you are the doctor", Luffy said but didn't stop his massage. Something that Marco was happy about.

It helped him relaxed a bit. Some tension fell off from him, making him want to fall asleep when suddenly he felt it.

It was only lightly. Like the touch of a feather. Marco's eyes snapped open. Luffy looked a bit shocked and worried about him. But he saw how it disappeared on his little lover's face when a slight smile appeared on Marco's lips.

"It moved, yoi."

* * *

"This is Oyaji's home island?", Luffy asked quietly when they had left the ship. Marco nodded. "There is a village close by where Oyaji lived. This is also the place where he sent most of his money he got out of our robberies, yoi", the blonde explained and took the boy's hand in his own.

Their fingers intertwined themselves without much thinking from both sides. It had become natural for them to hold hands like these during their hitchhiking trip. Especially, since they didn't have to worry that someone would recognise them in their disguise.

"We will go to the village and check where we are staying. Then we deal with food and if we have still enough time today, we visit the graves, yoi", Marco said while leaded Luffy down a path behind a waterfall. "Do we have to wear disguises the whole time? I don't like it…", his little lover mumbled. The blonde stopped and pecked the boy's lips. "No, I met some of the villagers when Oyaji sent me to bring the money here. They are nice and on our side most likely. Therefore we won't need disguises, I hope, yoi", Marco said and caressed the boy's cheeks. Luffy nodded with a grin on his face.

"Then let's hurry."

* * *

It had taken them a month to get homey and familiar with everything. The villagers had been nice to them like Marco had expected it. They had gotten a nice house slightly outside the village. Marco was happy about that because the area was quieter. Something he wasn't really used to any longer, but it felt nice.

Especially since he had Luffy with him. His little lover really surprised him. The boy never complained much that they weren't able to visit the graves, yet. Luffy had helped him with everything that needed to be done around the house. The boy nearly fell asleep nearly every evening when they went to bed. Looked like Marco finally found a way to make Luffy vent all this energy in a useful way.

The blonde had already prepared breakfast. The Phoenix suppressed a chuckle. Luffy would probably pout that breakfast was already done. His little lover had developed a great interest in cooking things since they were on this island (even if Luffy's first try alone at cooking weren't eatable).

But today was the day they finally had time to visit the graves. Yesterday before they went to bed, Luffy had helped him to prepare a bag with tools to clean the graves. Marco was a bit worried how the graves would look after there hadn't been one to look after the graves for eight months.

"Hey, not fair. I wanted to make breakfast and surprise you in bed", Luffy interrupted his thoughts. A pout on the lips like he expected it. "Next time, yoi", Marco promised and pecked his little lover on the lips. "Fine, let's hurry. I want to visit Ace and Oyaji", Luffy said with a sad smile on his face. "But don't eat too fast, yoi", Marco tousled the black hair before they started to eat.

The walk to the graves was relaxing. They were walking at a slow pace. The weather was nice and Marco regretted about a bit that they hadn't prepared a picnic basket to take it with them. The day was definitely nice for a picnic.

Slowly the blonde could see the bisento which marked Oyaji's grave. Luffy looked at him with big eyes and Marco sighed. The blonde let go of the teen's hand. "Go on, but don't run off, yoi."

He felt Luffy's lips on his cheek and smiled. Marco carefully watched how his little lover ran towards the graves and he slowed down slightly. Luffy should have some time alone to say his goodbye.

Also, it gave him someday to think. Should he tell his father figure and his ship brother about what exactly was going on?

"Don't worry, Ace. Marco is with me and keeps me safe. It's is a bit lonely without the others being around. But it has to be that way because well… it's complicated. I can't tell you, yet. You would get mad", Luffy told the grave with the orange head on the stone.

Marco shivered when he thought about how Ace would deal with this situation. He was sure the fire user would have chased him around despite his condition. Or… maybe Ace would show a little mercy because this child was going to be Ace's niece or nephew.

But he knew how Oyaji would react. Their father figure would probably use the opportunity to throw a party and drink to his heart's content.

"Ne, Marco? Do you think Oyaji and Ace will be fine if we take the coat and the hat from their graves and clean them when we are home again?"

Home. That sounded nice. Yes, it the little house close to the village was Luffy's and his home.

"Sure, yoi. I think they will be happy to have their things clean again."

* * *

"Marco, let me help you!", Luffy said and pouted. "You help me enough, yoi." "Tess said, I should make sure you don't work too much and you work too much! It's not healthy for the baby."

Marco blinked and cursed Tess silently for telling this Luffy. The blonde hated it if he needed help with the simple thing in life like cooking. moving furniture and shopping. He was only in the seventh month. So there would still be some time until he was a helpless mess (probably).

"Just lay on the couch and read a book. I do the shopping", Luffy said and hugged him softly. Marco then made the mistake and looked down towards his little lover. A pair of round brown puppy eyes looked up to him making him groan. "Fine… But at least let me write the list and be careful. Don't take too long, yoi", the blonde said and pecked Luffy's lips.

The boy grinned and nodded. "I will be back as soon as possible", Luffy promised and Marco noticed with a smile how his lover lifted himself up slightly to get a longer kiss.

Something that had become a more regular thing. Long soft loving kisses. These made the Phoenix wanted to drag his little lover into their bedroom and cuddle with him the whole day if they had the time.

"Don't move any furniture until I'm back. Promise me." "I promise, yoi", Marco said and kissed Luffy's forehead before he wrote the list and waved his little lover off.

Like Luffy had suggested he laid on the couch, but he didn't read a book. Marco mentally checked if they had everything they needed for the child except food because that would be too early.

His hand caressed the grown belly. In two month, he would be a parent of a little baby. Not even a year ago, he would have laughed or killed the person (depending on his mood) who would have told him about the future.

A future without having much of his family around him. Well, no one except Luffy was with him and no one except Tess knew where he exactly went. It hurt to leave the others in the dark… but it would be for the best if they didn't know about it. It would keep them safe if they didn't know anything about the baby.

Marco turned his head to the window and was shocked to find out that it already darkened. Luffy wasn't back, yet.

The blonde cursed when he stood up. He shouldn't have let Luffy go alone. The people in the village may be friendly towards them but it was still dangerous around here.

Marco had already opened the door to go look for his little lover when said boy appeared. Luffy was running.

Was something chasing after him? Marco felt the fire already dancing on his arms only waiting to transform his arms into wings.

"Sorry, I'm late… But the shop didn't have any strawberries and this nice little girl showed me where I could find some. Because you like them so much", Luffy panted. In his lover's hands were two shopping bags and a little basket full of strawberries.

Marco didn't know how to feel. Sure there was this worrying feeling that something had happened to Luffy. He should scream at the boy for making him worry that much. But… it was normal for him to worry about Luffy and… he was very relieved that his lover was at home now and very happy that he did take a detour to get him strawberries.

Marco took the shopping bags and the basket from Luffy. A smirk ghosted over his face when he heard the other protesting and following him in the kitchen where the bags and basket were put on the table.

But the protest died down when Marco pulled Luffy in his arms and kissed him. "I'm proud of you. But next time, don't take too long, yoi", the Phoenix whispered between two kisses.

* * *

"Well, how are you feeling after Caesarean section?"

Tess sounded too amused. His sister should be lucky that she was only on the den-den-mushi. "You sound too happy that you convinced Luffy to cut me open to get the child out, yoi", Marco grumbled. His body was slowly recovering. Even with his devil fruit abilities. He never wanted to experience that again and he didn't want to see blood on Luffy again.

He turned his head towards their bed. His little lover was asleep, curled up in a ball and clean from blood. Close by their bed stood now a crib. In this crib slept their daughter who had just been born.

Monkey D Mary Ann. Even if the Monkey D part was only known by Luffy and himself.

Their baby girl was named after two persons who had an impact on their lives. Mary had been a little sister from Marco who died even before he became a pirate and Ann was a name chosen in the memory of Ace. He didn't know how Luffy knew. But his little lover had told him that Ace would have been named Ann if the fire user had been a girl.

"Sorry, it is just…. I think you deserved it a bit after you wouldn't tell me about your little relationship with our baby brother."

Marco looked shocked at the den-den-mushi. How did she know? He had been very careful about this. He could hear her chuckling.

"It's a bit obvious if you think about it. Especially after the war. I mean, Luffy did cling to you and you wouldn't let Luffy out of your sight since you returned from the war. Also, you only took Luffy with you and kept the pregnancy a secret from everyone except me and Luffy. That is unusual for you. But with well Luffy's heritage, it somehow makes sense that you don't want many people to know to keep the baby safe."

"Will you still keep it a secret? I think I will stay here with Luffy and the baby. It will keep them out of trouble and we can be sure that this island is also safe, yoi." Marco looked at the den-den-mushi who had a thoughtful expression. Then he could hear Tess sigh.

"Fine, I will… Even if I think the others would need some good news to cheer them up. The rumours of Teach coming closer to the islands under our protection grew. It also seemed like he has no intention of going against Big Mom as he left Fishman Island alone. Looked like he is afraid of fighting against the Fishman or Big Mom."

Marco clenched his fists at the words about the traitor. This man really dared to come close to the islands they protect. It was like the man was spitting even more in Oyaji's face after he had brought so much pain over them.

There was a strange sound heard from Tess's side. "Is everything alright on your side, Tess,yoi?", Marco asked a bit worried. That sounded like a shoot. "Yeah, it is fine. The shoots are mostly some drunk idiots. Nothing to worry about. But I guess I will call you some other time again… Marco, tell Luffy I'm sorry making him cutting you up. Goodbye."

Marco's eyes widened. That didn't sound like there are only drunken idiots shooting around. "Tess, what is going on, yoi?!", he asked a bit louder. But no answer. Tess had hung up. This wasn't like his sister. She wouldn't just hang up on any on them like that. He was readily dialling the number of Tess's den-den-mushi again when a call was received.

The den-den-mushi mimicked Vista's face. "Vista, do you happen to be close to the island where Tess is, yoi?" Marco forgot even greeting his fellow former commander. "I am… but we can't go back to the island…" Marco looked with a blank stare at the den-den-mushi.

"What happened,yoi?" His voice was toneless. He already feared what happened to Tess and some of their other sisters. "We got information about Teach's movements… so Jozu and I evacuate the island as much as possible. The part was Tess and the other's were… we never reached it… We called ahead to get them away but the ones who could reach us said that Tess had looked herself up in her room because she got an important call."

That couldn't happen. That couldn't be real. Tess had… Tess had risked her own life to answer his and Luffy's call. She had risked her own life to keep the whole situation a secret. That was why she said that she was sorry. She knew that she would die. That was also the reason probably why she chose this way of birth for the baby because it was faster. Because she didn't know how many time she had left.

Marco wanted to hit his head against the wall. Maybe… Maybe if they had hung up directly after the baby was born and he started to heal, then she would still live.

"The island is on fire now… I don't think anyone survived…", Vista said.

"Vista, get the whole crew together. Everyone who is able to fight, yoi." The eyes of the den-den-mushi widened. "Marco, are you…" "Yes, I'm sure. If we don't fight against him now, I don't think we will have a chance to stop him ever. We already gave him too much time to get used to Oyaji's powers. Something that doesn't belong in his greedy hands, yoi."

"What about Luffy? Are you bringing him with you?" "No… Luffy will stay where he is at the moment. I believe that he is safe here and I intend to keep him where he is safe because I promised Ace to make sure that his brother will survive, yoi."

"Good luck convincing him to stay safe. I will assemble the others."

* * *

"Marco, you can't leave Mary and me alone. How should I take care of her? I… I don't even know how to cook right…", Luffy sobbed. Mary in his little lover's arms was starting to cry, too. Seeing both crying broke Marco's heart. His little baby girl crying probably because one of her parents was crying and his little lover sobbing because he intended to leave to go into another war.

Marco closed his eyes and stepped closer to them. Hugging them softly close to him. "I really don't want to leave… But we gave him too much time. He attacked the island where Tess and some of the others were on and we now know for sure that everyone who had been part of the crew had been killed by him. It is only a matter of time until he attacks the next island and kills more of our family, yoi", the blonde said and kissed Luffy softly.

The boy looked up at him. Worry glistened in these brown eyes which were normally full of life and joy.

"But if you lose… Mary and I… Mary and I will be alone… I also don't want anyone to die…", Luffy mumbled hugging Mary closer to him. The one-month-old baby seemed to grab on his little lover.

"Luffy, I would and I will give my life gladly to keep you two safe. With this fight, we have a chance to not only make him pay but also to keep everything dear to us safe, yoi."

He felt one Luffy's hands clenching his shirt. "Don't die… Mary needs her papa… I need you, Marco." His little lover's voice sounded weak. Marco felt a slight blush on his cheeks. Papa… He didn't deserve this title. He wanted to go to a war and leave his daughter and lover behind. But… it sounded nice to be someone's papa…

"I will return to you and our daughter. I promise, yoi." Marco kissed Luffy one last time, pecked Mary's forehead and left their home.

When he transformed into the blue Phoenix and flapped his wings to get high in the air, he could still hear his little girl crying and his little lover sobbing.

For them… he would beat Teach. To keep them safe.

* * *

He had failed. Again. The payback war, it was called that in the newspaper, had been the final defeat of the Whitebeard pirates. They lost many crew members and even some seasoned members came close to die. He had led his family to another war with so many dead. It was only his fault. His stupid fault.

Maybe if he had thought more about it and had acted on an impulse, many people's death could have been prevented. The islands they protected had fallen into Teach's greedy hands. The bastard was now also officially called a Yonko.

It made Marco want to throw up. So much power in the hand of a man who broke the rule and murdered a crew member. A man filled with greed.

The Phoenix shook his head as he landed on the island where the graves were and where his own personal treasure was hidden. Luckily, Teach couldn't get his hands on this one. This one was close to Akagami's territory. So before the payback war started, Marco made the deal with the red-haired Yonko that the other would include it to his territory if something happened. This way the traitor wouldn't get his hands on the graves and on Luffy and Mary.

Akagami had also been the one with his crew to pick up the one who survived. The man may joke a lot, but he had also helped them. The red-haired had arranged it that the surviving members could rest in his territory and started living there as long as they promised to keep the people safe.

The former first division commander had been happy to know that the others were safe. There had also been the offer again to join the Redhair Pirates. But Marco had declined. His future was no longer on the sea.

Marco took a deep breath before he slowly started to walk towards the place, he had started to call his home.

How would his little lover react that he returned home after losing another war? After letting more people die…

"Marco."

His name said in a soft voice which slightly hinted at tears made him stopped moving.

Luffy sat on a bench in front of the house with a cradle next to him. The blonde hadn't noticed that he had already reached home… well if he was still allowed to call it home.

The Phoenix saw tears in the brown eyes of the boy, he called his lover. "I'm sorry, yoi…" Again that was the only thing he could say. It made Marco look at the ground in shame that he wasn't able to say anything else.

"You're alive." Luffy sounded relieved. In the next second, the boy jumped him making it hard for him to stand so Marco let himself fall in the grass with Luffy on top of him.

"You really are alive. I… I was so worried that you died. The people in the village said that the newspaper reported that Teach had won. I thought I had lost you by his hands, too", his little lover sobbed while he felt the other pressing himself closer to him.

Slowly Marco lifted his arms and hugged Luffy. It felt too good to hold him close again. To just hear his voice again.

His brain took a shortcut somewhere because, in the next moment, his hands were on Luffy's cheek and he was kissing the boy.

Their lips moved desperately against each other. The kiss showed them both how much they really missed each other and how worried Luffy had been. Marco could taste the salty tears on the black-haired one's lips. But… it didn't matter. Not anymore.

A soft cry interrupted their kiss. Looked like Mary needed them. Slowly their lips separated from each other and Luffy stood up. His little lover had already taken their baby girl into his arms. A smile ghosted over his lips before he stepped closer to them. Marco wrapped one arm around Luffy's waist and pulled him softly closer to him. With his free hand, he played with his daughter.

"Sorry for leaving you so long, yoi", Marco said quietly to both. "But I'm home now and staying at home, yoi", he added and pecked Luffy's lips which formed the brightest grin he had seen in the last year.


End file.
